


Desert flower

by Luminimanoise



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keith and his daughter can shift between human and galra form, Keith has a child, M/M, Post-Canon, Tags May Change, and i have this hc that Keith is super good with children bc of orphanage so there's that, but theres reunion, everyone in their thirties, it'll be mostly fluff i guess, like for a couple of years, lost Keith, or i'll just add more later, probably you can see that already, team tries to bond again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12699987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luminimanoise/pseuds/Luminimanoise
Summary: Keith had been kidnapped few years ago. There wasn't any sign or warning, just emptiness. The team didn't stopped they're searching, but how long can you keep going without any progress?And how should you react when something once lost will come back?





	1. Silent run

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I guess I'm doing this.  
> First work and I don't really know what tags to add so like I wrote it there, I probably will add some later.  
> Anyway...  
> it'll be a story how Keith is coming back with his daughter to the team and there's a lot of happiness but y'know everyone changed so they need to start working to repair their relationship. There will be a lot of flashbacks to their life before kidnapping and to the time when Keith was lost somewhere (I'm not telling where just yet)  
> I'll be really happy if you leave some feedback! ^^ (and point at my mistakes bc there's probably a lot of them)
> 
> And there's a little blood in this chapter soooo  
> There will be blood in some but nothing super graphic I think

Girl was getting more and more terrified. She didn’t know how many black, dark panels they ran past but every corner and every door looked the same. Violet lights barely let her see silhouette of dad, who was pulling her by her hand. She heard only his quiet breath.

“Da-daddy,” her voice cracked slightly. “ I can’t run much more. “ she said with the hope of slowing down. He squeezed her hand, but slowed down, then stopped at the corner. He quickly looked down the corridor from behind the wall to make sure it’s safe for now. After a second the child was looking into the violet eyes, the very same as her own. She could see her own reflection in them- a storm of black curls surrounding her chubby face…and fear.

“There, there, sweetie.” the man was kneeling before her. He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “We’re almost there. You’re so brave, Avrae.“ he smiled gently, as if he didn’t want to scare her away. Which was stupid because she never would be afraid of dad, wouldn’t she? Somewhere in the depths of the building there were loud footsteps of large group, probably soldiers. Ears of her father twitched and he looked behind himself, alarmed. “It’s not very far away. Just a couple of steps.” he whispered, looking back at her. Footsteps was getting louder and louder, almost next to them. They didn’t have much time, so he grabbed her in his arms and slipped away, to the next room; to the next corridor. Avrae hold him by neck and nuzzled her face in his hair. It was somewhat comforting.

They were running in shadows, avoiding large sources of light. There was only silence. The rustle of the material as it rubbed against the corners and the silent squeal of the slippery soles while they were gliding over the metal floor couldn’t break it. Avrae could remember how one of their neighbors, Mr. Mitz, laughed at Keith, saying that he always appeared like a ghost. 

“I never know where to expect you!” his laughter was something like defense mechanism. When Mr. Mitz realized it was a friend not a guard, he would unclench his fists slowly, thinking that maybe they won’t notice. And Keith never tried to signal that he knew what the man was doing. It was silent agreement. He would just apologize, again, for scaring him so suddenly. “You know, training never left me.” Keith would just wave it off. ”Anyway, I came because…”

Memory disappeared at the sound of the laser ricocheting near them. There were screams and calls, then the alarms went off. Avrae clenched her father hair in her small fists and didn’t open the eyes. She trusted the promise that they will make it out alive. That’s what dad was telling her, explaining the plan once again. She slept in his bed that night, too afraid to go to her own room. 

“I won’t let anything happen to you, shooting star. I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t necessary.” his breath hitched as if for a moment he landed somewhere far far away. “You know what’s happening on the streets. What we’re planning to do is dangerous, but staying here would be even worse.” Keith sighed heavily. “I promise you, everything will be alright, ‘kay? There will be a happy ending in this story.” he kissed her forehead and fell asleep right there. Avrae knew he was exhausted so she just covered him with a blanket and snuggled to his side. She couldn’t sleep that night.

Suddenly she felt familiar and soothing weight of hand on her head.

“Everything’s okay. I had it all planned out.” dad told her quick, catching breath. Next light beam lighten corridor for a second. She looked up to see her father’s face. She knew that look. The look of sheer determination. She saw it in slightly knitted eyebrows and the amount of wrinkles. There were too many of them if you asked her. She saw it a thousand times when dad would leave home to go to the crowd; when he was teaching other children self-defense in their saloon; when he was telling her a stories about amazing things that were doing of even more amazing heroes. Sometimes when Avrae was left alone at home, she would try to imitate Keith, but she wasn’t very good at it. When she knitted her eyebrows together like him and add a scowl to it she couldn’t calm her laughter for good fifteen minutes. Sometimes she would spent hours in front of a mirror. She didn’t have anything else to do all alone.

She was thinking what ‘I had it all planned.’ meant, when she felt a slight jump. Then they were falling into a darkness. Girl looked up, behind her dad’s shoulder. She saw light of lamps, blackness of walls and a laser cutting off black lock of hair. Avrae didn’t know if it was her or dad’s and she didn’t care. Her lips were probably swollen from biting them too hard but she didn’t want to scream. Then there was only darkness.  
*  
When Keith felt more weight in his arms and Avrae’s head slumped on his shoulder he felt relief. He didn’t want to add even more stress to what she was living through. When they were still falling he managed to change his form, so the landing didn’t have to be so painful as it could be. He tried to cover girl as much as he could and then rolled over a little.

He stood up fast and analyzed surrounding. Another dark corridor, but this time he saw a light at the end. From blueprints he knew what is this room. Room with evacuation pods. He tried not giving himself too much hope, but their goal was so close. His heart might’ve skipped a bit. Keith looked at Avrae for some serious injuries. Bruise here, bruise there. Nothing broken or cut. Good. They were so so close to escape, but Keith didn’t lose his focus. Eyes scanning around, looking into every corner, every room and corridor. Then there was a thought in his mind: “Have I been paranoid because of stay here or was it always part of me?”. Not that it had any meaning.

He was looking into one of the rooms when his instinct kicked in. He barely managed to push himself away from the wall avoiding a small knife that would cut into his back. He made a quick spin around and stood face to face with one of the guards. They weren’t any different than the rest. Helmet was covering their face and they were dressed in armor with the emblem of the empire. In their hands there was a large set of throwing knifes. Keith would be impressed in probably every other situation, but not when the blades were pointing at him.

Keith jumped back, when the next knife cut into the floor near his foot. He knew that fight with a child in his arms will be harder than without it, but there was no way he was going to leave her somewhere next to the wall, without any protection. With his left hand he grabbed the hilt of the dagger behind his back. This blade lived through a lot. Keith was pretty sure it would take on a galra soldier. 

Then a loud whistle passed through the air and before the guard had even a chance to turn around, the elastic whip had been wrapped around their neck. It must have been sharp or have some spikes, because blood began to pour and soak into body suit under the armor. Galra tried to stop it, but for nothing. The last sound they’ve heard was the silent squeal of the slippery soles on metal floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you had read it I have a quick question:  
> Should I leave this at gen or make it shippy (I thought about Keitor; soft and happy one, none of the abusive relationship)?  
> And I really don't want to go deeper in how Avrae exists. She was created a) after kidnapping by Keith genes and quintessence or b) before the kidnapping with genes of the x and Keith and quintessence. She just slept in some incubator for 9 months. I'll see how it'll go.


	2. Lavender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so  
> If you didn't see already I want to inform you that this fic is Keitor now :3c
> 
> Thank you for nice feedback on first chapter!
> 
> Hope you enjoy

When Keith saw a member of the Blade of Marmora going out of the shadows, he thought his knees will give up and he’s going to fall to the floor. Instead of that he looked to the soldier lying on the ground.

“I think he won’t be a problem anymore.” The hooded figure said, ripping their weapon from the body. 

Keith nodded and tried to hold Avrae more comfortable, because she slipped a little when he jumped. She was still out cold. Man was pretty sure he’s hearing snoring.  
Blade ran closer to him. They didn’t try to attack him. Actually they seemed somewhat happy with how they run looked so jumpy.

“Sir,” the girl- the women, he corrected himself- saluted him in so familiar way his heart filled with warmth. “have you seen someone named Keith Kogane around here?” in her tone he heard smile and a little nostalgia, even when her face was hidden behind a mask.

“It’s good to know you still has some sense of humor, Laven.” He choked out, feeling overwhelmed. He didn’t see anyone close to him for so long and it hit him in that moment. How long it’s been since he meet someone he could trust besides Avrae? He knew he shouldn’t relax just yet, but his arms loosened around his baby unconsciously. Laven was one of his pupils while he was an active member of the blades. She was only seventeen then. The same age he was when a robotic lion threw him into a center of a war. Looking at her new uniform he knew she became an official member already. He saw how proud she was because of that. He was kind of proud too.

“When did you get higher than me?” he asked instead.

She let out a muffled sound. “I was always higher than you! A lots of galran are higher than you!” He was going to respond when stray bullet burned his cheek. Doors at the end of the corridor were open and a few soldiers came through. Keith and Laven were lucky that soldiers were just bots, probably send because living ones were too busy.

“I think talking in the middle of corridor was a stupid idea.” Woman huffed while preparing her weapon. Keith could imagine her sharp teeth grinning under the mask. She always was a little more bolder than the rest of her group. He wished he had more time to knock some things out of her head while she still had been his student. “You go ahead, I’ll take care of them!” And she was gone.

For a moment Keith considered running after her, but he had only small dagger and a child in his arms. It wasn’t the best idea. And he knew because he had so many bad ideas when he was younger that now he could somewhat recognize them. Most of the time. Laven was always very talented girl and he could only imagine how much better she became in these few years. He turned on his heel and ran. ‘No one would give this job to a newbie.’ He thought again before stepping into the illuminated room. 

The amount of light dazzled Keith for a moment. He raised his hand to cover his eyes even for a moment. At the same moment someone grabbed his arm. Time stopped for a second before Keith bent his hand so he could catch the attacker and pull their arm firmly while taking a step aside.

The person lost their balance and took a step forward, something that Keith was going to use when…

“Paladin of Voltron, I am here to help you. I do not want to harm you two.” Said a pitched voice. The next Blade of Marmora member. This time a male.

“Show me a proof.” Keith wanted to see a blade this time. He didn’t knew the person behind a voice. And it irritated him that he hadn’t felt presence of someone else in the room. Only after he had made sure he let go of his arm. “Where will I need your help?” he asked finally.

“Groups of two members were located in every hangar if you were to go there. We hoped you would accept our help and board one of our own ships. The others probably have built-in sensors so…”

“Yes, I’m aware of the sensors. I wanted to change it to other ship on the way, but since you’re proposing. You can just show me a way to yours and then I think Laven would use some help.” Keith pointed at the door out. 

“I…can’t do that.” The blade shook his head slowly. “ We have orders to not leave you alone. And we can’t take…your orders,” He stiffly hidden his hands behind his back. “Paladin.” He added after a moment.

Oh…so disappearing for seven years leaves a mark on you. 

Keith knew blades are stubborn (and not very nice when tired). He knew because he was one once too. Their goal is to follow orders without straying too much from the plan. He remembered how blindly he would do some things for them as a teenager. So very stupid things sometimes. Only after seeing how this organization worked from the inside he wanted to change and reform it. Too bad he didn’t have time.

Keith took a deep breath, tried to calm his nerves and asked again. If not the Avrae still sleeping in his arms he would incapacitate galra in a second.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to shred his voice for too long, because after a few minutes Laven came into the room. She quickly locked the door by driving her dagger into the panel next to them.

“I told the other groups that we found you, Kitty. And I kicked some asses so…” she laughed briefly. “Why are you standing there? C’mon, the ship’s that way. And Tares, what did I told you?” she hit him light on the cheek. Tares just murmured something and went first. “He’s shy around new people.” 

There was a bit of silence, where the two of them tried to find some words.

“Well, let’s go. It’s time for you to go home.” She said in changed tone of voice, like she was trying to not show too much emotions. Maybe they will have some time later. 

While he was going after the two of blades a lot of different questions attacked his mind. What if his home, his family isn’t waiting for him? What if there isn’t anything to go back to? He really thought that he got rid of these insecurities but here he was again. On that planet there weren’t any ways to contact outside so he didn’t hear anything about Voltron or rebellion. And about the war he knew only that it still raged on. He saw the empire soldiers every day. Keith brushed Avrae hair with his claws. He wanted to take her far away from this place. At the beginning, her age was something that kept him there. When she was just an infant he couldn’t force himself to risk so much. He could just trip and damage her in the worst way possible. Then there was fear. He tried to fight it, tried to resistance, but for nothing. This colony could fill every creature with fear.

Keith never thought that black, hooded costumes would cause such a relief. In this moment he was next to friend. And he was going home.

To Shiro, his oldest friend. To Lance, his right hand man. To Pidge, his space sister. To Hunk, who had given him so much comfort. To Allura, with whom he could talk about anything. To Coran, who never stopped surprising him. 

To Lotor.

He allowed himself a moment to think about the man, then finally boarded the ship.


	3. And I loved him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting two first chapters just before the period of intensive work at the end of semester was stupid thing to do 
> 
> This chapter is the first flashback in story   
> Keith and Lotor were married for 3 years at this moment :D
> 
> Enjoy and leave some feedback! Thanks!

Lotor tried to be as silent as he could be, when he was getting up from the bed and wrapping himself in the soft robes. He slipped his feet in the slippers with the red lion’s face and sat down in front of the dresser table and the mirror. He knew he probably was starring too long, looking for wrinkles and some other imperfections. Breath left his lungs in one slow sigh. Lotor began unraveling his braid. Well, at least his hair was the same as always. Straight, white strands were with ease slipping through his fingers.

“Need some help?” he heard a voice, still hoarse from sleep.

“Mmm.” Lotor muttered softly with refusal. “I think I’m able to brush my hair myself. I’m not so sure about you.” Lotor chuckled glancing at the black hair scattered on the pillow. Its owner was cuddled somewhere under the sheets. “You didn’t tied them yesterday evening.”

“Very insightful, thanks.” Said Keith trying to lift himself on his elbows. Then he threw his legs over the edge of the bed. Lotor could just watch his slender back, old and new scars littering his body. The man stretched and made the bed the same way he did every day. Then he left without the word, doors silently shutting after him.

Lotor was just finishing his daily routine, when he felt the weight of second body on his back. On both sides of his head were sticking out arms with steaming cups. Keith kissed the crown of his hair. 

“Good morning.” He murmured. Lotor couldn’t stop the smile.

“Which one is mine?” Keith rocked the drink he was holding in his right hand. Gold-luxite wedding ring rang softly, hitting the mug. “Thank you.”

“We were together for so long and I still don’t understand how can you drink it.” Lotor huffed looking as his husband leaned with his hips against the desk.

“If you ever agreed to at least try you would get used to it.” He took a sip of his black coffee.” And if you insist on this liquid sugar with milk, I don’t know how long you will last.”

“I’ll die happy.” Said Keith. After a moment filled with slow sips of coffee, he continued. “Anyway, you’ve woken up already so c’mon. We have to be on the breakfast.” He grabbed Lotor’s hand and pulled him up.

They put on their casual clothes, some old t-shirts. Keith was tying his hair in loose bun, when one strand escaped from the hairstyle and fell over his eyes.

“Let me.” Lotor came a little closer and slipped the lock behind the ear. He remembered when he did that the first few times and when his (then) boyfriend was furiously blushing. Even the tips of his ears were red. Frustration was starting to strike and only couple of seconds later, Keith was creating distance between them. Right now Keith smiled, so endearing and amazing, that Lotor needed a moment to get himself together again. He couldn’t remember if anyone else ever was able to make him feel like this.

“Come on, Lotor. You don’t want to get a reprimand from Hunk. Every Tuesday is a shared breakfast.”

“I’ll never make that mistake again.” They laughed going out of their bedroom. Hands intertwined, the couple walked down the hall talking about one of the last missions.

 

From the very beginning of the day, from the moment consciousness started to sip into his body, Keith felt anxiety rising under his skin. He could hardly get out of the bed and before Lotor noticed anything out of order, he went out with excuse to go for the coffee. It wasn’t unusual so his husband didn’t figured out something was off.

With weird nostalgia, Keith remembered times, when the lightest sound would wake him up, blade in his hand, fight stance ready. Recently it was difficult for him to open his eyes , feeling the other body behind his back and the legs intertwined with his own.

When the coffee machine was preparing the drinks, Keith sat on the counter and sighed. He didn’t dreamed. No one was hurt lately. Every mission ended with success, without counting that one when some aliens tried to sacrifice Pidge to goddess of rain. Or murder, who knows. Voltron hadn’t asked.

Then why? Why now, when everything was okay, his intuition was sending him warning after a warning? He knew it could be wrong, it wasn’t some supernatural ability. But it had helped him a lot of times in the past so he didn’t want to ignore it.

The machine signaled ready coffee, which for a moment distracted the man. He grabbed the cups trying not to burn his hands.

Of course, it wasn’t possible.

With whine he put down one with such a force that the bottom broke and hot drink spilled all over countertop and then floor. Keith could just watch with despair. Then he felt the pain in his arm and run to the sink to get the burn under the running water.

“You okay, man?” Lance asked, leaning against the door frame. He hadn’t had time to take care of his bed-hair. Keith didn’t have a strength to tell him that. 

“Coffee.” He said instead, rubbing his arm. Blue paladin’s brow rose a little.

“And you had to wake me up at this ungodly hour?”

“…it’s eight already.” Keith sighed and started to wipe the mess.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” asked Lance, coming closer. He put another mug under the machine to save Keith’s time. Lotor drank black coffee without additives so he pressed this button and then he grabbed paper towels and began to rub the countertop. From the corner of his eye he looked down at his friend, but the curtain of hair covered his face. They were working in silence for a minute when Keith asked:

“Today you’re going down on the Kaleyon, right?”

“Huh…?” Lance needed a moment to search for the answer in his just woken up brain. “Ah, yeah. Fourth meeting already. And I really hope it’ll be the last. Remember Barane-ah? He’s cute, but his character…” he gave Keith a look that said everything. “Why?”

“Something is telling me it’s not a great idea.” 

Coffee machine finished the drink.

“Okay. I’ll try to pass it to the team. Subtly."

“Ah, yes. Everyone know how subtle you can be.” Keith teased and smiled a little when Lance pouted. He tossed the towel into the sink and reached for the cups standing nearby. 

“Now, I’m serious. I promise we’ll be careful. But you know we can’t cancel it now.” Lance looked pretty guilty and Keith almost regretted telling him that. Almost.

“I’m not asking for that. It’s only diplomatic talks, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He gave Lance a smile and stepped back in the direction of door. “Do you think Hunk will notice…?” he nodded at the place of cleaned up mess. There weren’t any traces.

“Duh, course he will.” Keith could only watch as Lance took an armful of sweets from the cup shelf. "It's better to take everything what's necessary. If I will be banned from kitchen again. "

“See you on the breakfast.” Keith send him last smile, choosing not to comment. 

The feeling of control slipping from under his fingers remained with him for a long time. 

Nevertheless, the view of Lotor sitting in their shared bedroom, preparing for a new day, silenced it enough that Keith could hardly remember about this feeling when he sat down at the table.

 

“Have fun and remember to bow at ninety-five degrees. The ruler of Kaleyon is known for her…” Coran began to explain the most important traditions of the region for the millionth time in the last six months.

“We’re grateful, Coran.” Allura raised her hands to calm down the royal adviser. He always started to talk really fast when he was nervous. “We remember everything. And it’s probably the last one meeting on Kaleyon. Then we can move to different quadrant. If everything will go alright.” She added quietly. Luckily, Shiro was by her side and swiftly entered conversation.

“It’s only five hours. And you are a great teacher so I’m sure we’re ready.” Shiro’s reassuring smile eased Coran’s worry a little. 

“We’re going to be late.” Hunk rushed them by waving his hand, standing in front of the yellow lion.

Thanks to that the team said their goodbyes and entered respective lions. Lance winked at Keith.

“Maybe…I will stay?” Asked Lotor quietly, still standing by Keith’s side. He looked conflicted. 

“You know you must be at this meeting. You’re one of the those who will be responsible for the empire after Zarkon’s fall. Your opinion is very important in the arrangements.” Then he jabbed Lotor with a finger. “Besides, I was on the last one. Your turn.” 

Keith could feel Lotor pouting into his hair, when they hugged goodbye. Their kiss was short but sweet and it was enough to silence their worries. 

“And what if it’s today?” asked Lotor, still holding his husband’s hand. 

“If it’s today then…you will have a nice surprise when you come back. “ the echo of nervous laughter filled the hangar. 

The two of them were so, so excited to meet their daughter. Expectation, stress and shaky nerves at the same time weren’t helping their psyche for the last nine and half months.

“Just come back quickly.” He leaned his forehead against Lotor’s and let their breaths merge into one. 

“Of course, my prince.” 

The lions and the ship didn’t even disappeared from the horizon, when Keith walked out of the hangar.


End file.
